- TikTok settles frivolous lawsuit ahead of trial
Source: The Hill
“TikTok has settled a lawsuit accusing it and several other social media companies of designing addictive platforms shortly before the landmark case headed to trial Tuesday, according to an attorney for the plaintiffs. It is the latest company to settle the case and avoid trial, after Snapchat’s parent company similarly reached a settlement last week. The trial will now go forward with the two remaining companies, Meta and YouTube. … The plaintiffs have accused the social media companies of deliberately designing their platforms to induce kids to use their products despite research linking social media to youth mental health issues. ” (01/27/26)
https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5708532-tiktok-lawsuit-avoided-trial/
- North Korea: Kim says upcoming party congress will unveil plans to bolster nuclear deterrent
Source: Seattle Times
“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said his country will unveil plans to further bolster its nuclear program at the upcoming ruling party congress, as he observed the North’s latest weapons launch, state media reported Wednesday. The Korean Central News Agency said North Korea performed a live-fire drill of an upgraded large-caliber multiple rocket launcher system in the presence of Kim on Tuesday, an apparent reference to what South Korea and Japan earlier described as ballistic missile launches from North Korea. State media photos show Kim walking near a huge launch truck with his teenage daughter in her latest public appearance with her father. South Korea’s spy service said in early 2024 it considered the girl, reportedly named Kim Ju Ae, as her father’s likely heir.” (01/27/26)
- Judge rules Virginia Democrats violated law with redistricting amendment
Source: Washington Post
“A circuit court judge in rural Tazewell County has ruled against the redistricting effort started by Virginia Democrats, declaring that the process they used to create a proposed constitutional amendment is invalid. Democrats immediately pledged to appeal. With controlling majorities in the General Assembly, Democrats have pushed through a proposed amendment that would give lawmakers power to draw new congressional maps in time for this fall’s midterm elections. If passed by voters in a referendum scheduled for April 21, Democrats could create maps that give their party a 10-1 advantage in the state’s congressional delegation, which is split between six Democrats and five Republicans. Democrats launched the effort in response to President Donald Trump’s encouraging of Republican states to create red-leaning districts to help the GOP retain control of the House of Representatives this fall.” (01/27/26)
- Ukraine: Russian drone strike on passenger train kills five
Source: The Guardian [UK]
“A Russian drone strike on a passenger train in north-eastern Ukraine has killed five people, prosecutors said, an attack denounced as terrorism by president Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Prosecutors said fragments of five bodies had been found at the scene of the strike on the train, which occurred on Tuesday near a village in Ukraine’s Kharkiv region. The train had been operating from Chop, near Ukraine’s western borders with Hungary and Slovakia, to the town of Barvinkove. Photographs posted online showed at least two carriages ablaze next to a snow-covered rail bed. … A barrage of more than 50 Russian drones killed three people and wounded more than 30 in the southern city of Odesa, regional officials said.” (01/27/26)
- MN: Man arrested after spraying politician with unknown liquid from syringe
Source: KARE 11 News
“A man was arrested after he lunged at and sprayed Rep. Ilhan Omar with an unknown substance during a town hall Tuesday evening in Minneapolis. Minneapolis Police say Omar was uninjured and resumed speaking, but said that Minneapolis Forensic Scientists responded to process the scene. The town hall was an opportunity for Omar and other officials to meet with community members about the federal immigration operations going on throughout the state. Omar was speaking when the man got up, lunged at the congresswoman, and sprayed an unknown liquid from a syringe before being tackled. Police say the man was arrested for third-degree assault.” (01/27/26)
- The lawlessness of ICE is a betrayal of voters
Source: spiked
by Fraser Myers“Voters want the law enforced, fairly and consistently. They want criminal elements removed from their communities. But when it appears, fairly or not, that agencies like ICE have themselves become sources of disorder or lawlessness, it is entirely understandable that public opinion will turn. The killings of two citizens have not been the only outrages. In Minnesota this past month, immigration officers have arrested a five-year-old child, and were filmed pepper spraying a man they had already detained. Last week, they wrongfully arrested a US citizen at gunpoint, searched his house without a warrant, and led him out on to the streets in his underwear, in sub-zero conditions. This aggressive, confrontational approach – by masked-up heavies – may appeal to the diehards, but it shocks ordinary folk who would otherwise support robust border control.” (01/27/26)
- The Government’s Story About Alex Pretti Just Fell Apart — And They Know It
Source: Chasing Liberty
by Jeff Charles“When Border Patrol agents shot and killed Alex Pretti in Minneapolis on January 24, the Trump administration immediately launched into damage control mode. But instead of being honest about what happened, top officials — from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem to FBI Director Kash Patel to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller — did what every government does best: They told lie after lie to justify killing an American citizen. Video evidence, witness testimony, and investigative reporting have exposed these lies one by one. And the pattern is clear: these people will say anything to protect federal agents who kill civilians — whether it is true or false.” (01/27/26)
https://www.libertychasers.com/p/the-trump-administrations-lies-about
- From Athens to Sparta: How Trumpism Is Driving America’s Decline
Source: The UnPopulist
by Johan Norberg“How do you create a golden age? In my book Peak Human, I tried to answer that question by examining seven exceptionally creative and innovative civilizations — ancient Athens, Rome, the Abbasid Caliphate, Song China, Renaissance Italy, the Dutch Republic, and today’s Anglosphere. … In the United States, it is hard to escape the feeling that President Trump has read my book in reverse. He speaks of unleashing a new American golden age, but the way in which he is upending many of America’s greatest strengths seems designed to move the country straight toward its phase of decline and fall.” (01/27/26)
https://www.theunpopulist.net/p/from-athens-to-sparta-how-trumpism
- Did Grok break the law?
Source: Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression
by John Coleman“Grok, the AI system integrated into X, has reportedly been used to turn real pictures of people — including minors — into nude or sexualized imagery. People are understandably outraged. This episode shows how a person can use AI tools to violate a sense of human dignity and security with little more than a photo and a prompt. The fact that the tool was used to target real people, especially children, without their knowledge or consent is particularly disturbing to many. Some have responded by calling for new laws. That instinct is understandable. But many proposals would raise serious First Amendment concerns, and before trying to scratch the ‘do something’ itch with new legislation, it’s important to first ask: does existing law already prohibit this? In many cases, the answer is yes.” (01/27/26)
- Come on, folks — use some common sense
Source: The Price of Liberty
by Nathan Barton“Several faith leaders are urgently calling for protecting the rights of worshippers while also expressing compassion for migrants. That’s after a group of anti-immigration enforcement protesters disrupted Sunday service at a Southern Baptist church in St. Paul, Minnesota. … the behavior of Walz, Ellison, Frey, or whoever (including the ‘protesters’ who invaded the meetinghouse), do not justify or demand more laws or calls for more government action ‘protecting the rights’ and ‘sanctity of our houses of worship.’ For one thing, we don’t need new laws – we need to get rid of most we have.” (01/27/26)
https://thepriceofliberty.org/2026/01/27/come-on-folks-use-some-common-sense/
- Minnesota Murders Shoot a Hole in the Overton Window
Source: Garrison Center
by Thomas L Knapp“Even a few weeks ago, my position on something like the murder of Alex Pretti — sadly not an uncommon occurrence, as cops kill hundreds, sometimes thousands, of Americans per year, many of them unjustifiably — was well outside the Overton Window. … The shots that killed Alex Pretti shattered the window entirely. Not just because it was obviously cold-blooded murder, but because the few government and ‘law enforcement’ officials who tried to justify it were so clownishly dishonest and cartoonishly evil in their deliveries that no one with a shred of self-esteem could pretend to, and no one with an IQ over 40 could actually, believe them.” (01/27/26)
- Censorship and the Ratchet Effect: Threats to Free Speech Outlast Supposed Crises
Source: The Daily Economy
by Julian Adorney“Late last year, YouTube announced plans to reinstate accounts that had been banned at the behest of the Biden Administration for posting alleged COVID-19 misinformation. The announcement likely came as a relief to groups like the Children’s Health Defense Fund, a group associated with Robert Kennedy Jr.; and to Senator Ron Johnson; both of whom were punished by the social media giant for posting videos that ran contrary to the Biden administration’s official policy on the COVID-19 vaccine and on COVID-19 treatments. This is a good move. But we should remember, it wasn’t just YouTube that decided to punish speech disapproved by the prior administration.” (01/27/26)
- The Next Level, 01/27/26
Source: The Bulwark
“Lil’ Greg Bovino Sent Home; Tom Homan In.” (01/27/26)
- Nonzero, 01/27/26
Source: bloggingheads.tv
“The Case Against AI | Robert Wright, Emily Bender, and Alex Hanna.” (01/27/26)
- Politics Politics Politics, 01/27/26
Source: Politics Politics Politics
“What We Know About the Minneapolis Fallout. Talking Canada, Carney, and Midterms (with Evan Scrimshaw).” (01/27/26)
https://www.politicspoliticspolitics.com/p/what-we-know-about-the-minneapolis
- A Dying Woman Found Peace With Mushrooms. Most Americans Aren’t Allowed That Option.
Source: Reason
“A new film tells the story of a cancer patient’s quest to confront the existential angst of dying by taking magic mushrooms.” (01/27/26)